A New Dawn, A New Life
by Pyro Bear
Summary: When Dawn jumps in the the portal when she was fifteen, she lands in LA two years later... as a five year old child, and without a memory of her previous life. Complete.
1. Daring to Begin

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
Let me fall  
Let me climb  
There's a moment when fear  
And dreams must collide  
"Let Me Fall", Josh Groban  
************  
  
2001, Sunnydale, CA  
  
Dawn looked downwards, the crackling pool of energy made a hissing sound. "The portal closes when the blood stops flowing," she whispered to herself. "Great, so I either wait to bleed to death, slowly, or think of something." Furrowing her brow, she tried to think of a plan, which she failed miserably at. Looking downwards again, she saw Spike beginning to move. "Good," she murmured to herself, "he's not hurt too bad, but it was stupid for him to come and try to save me."  
  
"Dawn!" Buffy's voice brought Dawn out of her out loud mumbling.   
  
As the slayer untied the teenager's bonds, she told her, her plan. Dawn was appalled, "Buffy... no!" she cried.  
  
Buffy looked at her sadly, "Dawnie, I have to."  
  
Dawn shook her head; "No!" tears ran down her face.  
  
Buffy's hand tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. "Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen," she tried to reason. "Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."  
  
She walked towards her sister, tears still streaming down her face, "You're selfish. You want to die, after all that is your gift. But let me tell you this, you're needed. Who's going to protect Sunnydale if you're gone? No one. So just buck up and get off your high horse. Destiny is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice, and I'm making mine," Dawn ran to the edge of the platform.  
  
Buffy's arm pulled her back. "Do you hate me that much that'd you rather give up your life then live it with me?" she asked, tears in her eyes.  
  
"No Buffy, it's not that. It really isn't. Believe me, I don't wanna go, and it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so, but we both know there's not better way. I'm sorry." Dawn hugged her sister.  
  
Buffy hung on to the younger girl. "It doesn't matter. What are you doing?" she asked as she looked up. Dawn was moving away from her.  
  
Dawn was almost at the edge by then. "I have to jump. The energy."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "It'll kill you."  
  
Dawn smiled stiffly. "I know. Buffy, I know about the ritual. I have to stop it."  
  
Buffy didn't want to hear it, and covered her ears. "No," she cried over and over again, not wanting to believe it.  
  
Dawn kneeled down, and laid a bloody hand upon her sister's shoulder "I have to. Look at what's happening. Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop. You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood. Glory comes to those who dare to begin," she cried the last part, grinned, before taking a backwards leap off of the platform, and into the energy.  
  
"Dawn, no!" Buffy cried as she reached out, a second too late. As she looked over the edge of the metal platform, she only saw the energy start to dissolve into itself, Dawn's job accomplished. "Dawn, no!" Buffy repeated, this time much softer. By that time the portal had dissolved totally, but Dawn's body was nowhere to be found. It seemingly disappeared, just like the portal of energy did. One could only suspect the teenager's body went wherever the energy had.  
  
2003, Los Angeles, CA  
  
"That last stunt could have left you with a broken spine, or worse, killed," Wesley said to his patrolling partner, who just shrugged it off.  
  
"Aw come on Jeeves. I was just having some fun. It wasn't like I was hurting anybody, well save that vamp," Faith grinned at her old watcher. When she saw his scowl, she scowled right back in a playful manner, "If it bothers you that much. I'll start patrolling with Connor. At least he likes all the fun stuff."  
  
After the defeat of the Beast, Faith had made moves to repair ties with her ex-watcher. They sill fought constantly, options often going in the way. But at least by then, neither one was trying to kill the other, which can always be considered a plus.  
  
"Well next time warn me before you do that," Wesley sniffed slightly as he reviewed mentally their last take down of a vampire.  
  
"If it bugs ya that much, I won't do it. But don't take away all my fun," Faith winked as she darted into a side ally way, coming back out a minute later. "B's so-called spidey senses alerted me," was all she offered for an explanation.  
  
"Well then, are we off?" Wesley asked, stake raised in a mock salute, a smirk playing upon his time aged weary face.  
  
Faith nodded, before she started to walk, "We are. I have a hankering for rocky road ice cream. So I'm hitting up the first Baskin Robbins I see."  
  
"It's nice for life to go back to normal, even if it's just for a little bit," Wesley said as he took a lick of his vanilla cone. Faith had tried to persuade him to try something different, and more exciting, but he assured her, strawberry was as daring as he went when it came to ice cream, and that wasn't very often. You don't mess with a man's ice cream after all.  
  
"It's nice to be in the world again, to be me. Well no the psycho bitch me, as B put it, but not the weepy me you saw three years ago either. Hopefully the one that accepts death, but tries to have as much fun as I can in the process. May the way I was before the mayor's offer." Faith looked at Wesley; "I'm rambling aren't I?"  
  
He nodded silent. He didn't really mind the rambling though. The chatter filled the uncomfortable silence that they usually had. Besides it was good to know she had other emotions other than pissed off and psycho bitch. It was good to know she was a normal human being.  
  
"I'm rambling about the multiple personalities that I've had in the past five years. And they all focus on my killing things," Faith said bitterly.  
  
"It's usually said that a slayer's greatest gift is the their gift of death. They say slayers dream and wish for it," Wesley reported awkwardly.  
  
Faith looked at Wesley, her eyebrow raised in uninterested. "If that was to make me feel better, you failed, miserably."  
  
Wesley turned toward her, his eyes narrowed, as if he was angry with her. "Thank you for that observation," he said, the sarcastic note shining so bright, a blind person could see it.  
  
"There's no reason to get snippy," Faith said, chuckling. Taking the last bite of her cone, she wiped her hands on her pants and tossed her napkin into a nearby trash can.  
  
They again started to walk in silence, not really sure what one should say to the other.  
  
This problem was solved when they saw a vampire having a bite to eat. "Ugh, can't they limit their activities to dark allies and cemeteries? A park is supposed to be a nice happy place," Faith said the last part as she ran towards the snacking animal.  
  
But by that time, Faith as too late, the vamp had, had his fill of the two mid-twenty people, but he seemed to be looking for something. Which was odd vampire behavior, especially for one who just ate. Usually once they had their meal, they would go off and usually have a night of drunken fun. It was also slightly odd because it was very strange for any vampire, unless they made it to about 100; to do anything other than eat and have sex.  
  
"Where is it? Where is the bright one?" it growled, prowling around, it's feeding face still on.  
  
"So sorry, the light has gone out," Faith thought for some reason the vampire was looking for a flashlight, sometimes you never knew with the demons. "I'll let you know what I find your flashlight," Faith tapped the vampire on the shoulder, as it turned around, the stake plunged in and out. "But wait, you'll be gone by then," she said softly.  
  
"Who are you?" a voice said as Faith turned around.  
  
"English," Faith had adopted the same name Gunn had used to address Wesley, "I would hope you would know me by now."  
  
"Faith, I'm over here," the clipped voice of the irate British man on Faith's right said. "I believe that little ankle biter said that," Wesley pointed to a little girl who what crawling out of the nearby playground.  
  
Faith sent a sharp glare toward the English man before she dropped down into a crouch, to about the height of the now standing girl. "Hi," she said softly. "My name's Faith," she waved at the girl who gave her a shy look. Unknown to most people, she enjoyed small children.  
  
"I'm Dawn, I'm four!" she held out her right hand, all her fingers splayed.   
  
Faith made a 'come here' motion, and when Dawn walked over; Faith put the little girl's thumb down. "There you go, now it's four," she said with false cheerfulness, then she grew serious, "Why were you hiding?"  
  
Dawn shrugged her shoulder, "Darcy told me to hide. She said the bad man couldn't get me, cause I'm special," she said the last part in a proud voice.  
  
"I bet you're very special," Faith agreed as she stood up, holding her hand out, Dawn took it.  
  
"Faith what are you doing?" Wesley nearly shrieked. "That ankle biter is not a lost little puppy one can just take home!"  
  
Faith shot another look to the British man intent on speaking her mind, but Dawn beat him to it. Blinking slowly she looked up at the man, "You talk funny," she stated plainly.  
  
"Yeah Wes," Faith joined in, always eager to take a stab at the former watcher, "you talk funny."  
  
************  
Reach out to me  
Call out my name  
And I would bring you back again  
Today  
"Home to Stay", Josh Groban  
************  
  



	2. Family

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
And isn't faith believing  
All power can't be seen  
As my heart holds you  
Just one beat away  
I cherish all you gave me everyday  
'Cause you are mine  
"Where You Are", Josh Groban  
************  
  
Faith and Wes walked into the hotel, the base of operations for the people of Angel Investigations. Dawn was in Faith's arms; after all it was probably past the time she went to bed. Faith was smiling; she liked the unfamiliar burden.  
  
It reminded her of something she had given up, or rather something that was taken from her.  
  
Her daughter.  
  
Yeah, she had a daughter, and the bastards at the Watchers Council somehow found out, so while she was in a coma, they ripped the baby out of her, and put her up for adoption. The only reason she knew she had a baby girl was because she cajoled it out of the nurse once she woke up. Needlessly to say, as soon she found that out, Faith went on a rampage, trying to find the lost child.  
  
She never found anything. So after a month of searching, she gave up, nobody cared about a teenage mother that lost her newborn daughter, no matter the circumstances.  
  
Faith was brought out of her musings when Dawn started to stir. "I'm hungry," was the first thing out of her mouth.  
  
Grinning, Faith set the little girl on the ground and once again took her hand. "Well what do you want to eat?" she asked, leading her to the kitchen.  
  
"Um…" Dawn scrunched up her face in hard thought, "Peanut butter and banana!" she decided finally.  
  
Faith laughed, "I think," she pointed to Dawn, and then to herself, "that you and me will be great friends. That was my favorite snack when I was your age, and it still is. So what do you say, I go make a double order of peanut butter and banana sandwiches?" Faith asked.  
  
Dawn laughed and nodded her head enthusiastically. The two hand in hand walked towards the kitchen.  
  
Later that night, after Faith had relinquished her own bed in order for the tiny girl to have a comfortable night, she walked down stairs, only to face a worried bunch of faces. "Who's the girl Faith?" Connor spoke up first, having found companionship and friendship with the rouge slayer.  
  
"An orphan I guess. English and I saved her. What's it to you?" she asked him, a glint of amusement in her eyes, showing Connor, and consequently the rest of the group, she was kidding.  
  
Connor cocked an eyebrow, "And your grew attached to her, you don't like people remember?" he asked her.  
  
She shrugged, "You don't know everything Mr. Destroyer. Angel, can I talk to you for a minute?" Angel bowed his head in acceptance and it signified the end of the group conversation.  
  
As they walked into the office, Angel gave the slayer an odd look, "This is new Faith," he said finally.  
  
She sighed and sat down in a chair, twirling around so she could face him. "You're my oldest friend Angel," she started off, "You didn't give up on me while others did, and I think you should know."  
  
After shooting her a curious look, Angel sat across from her, "Know what?" he asked, fearing the worst. Life had just starting to get back to normal.  
  
"I'm a mother," Faith said simply. When she saw the confused look that Angel gave her, she took another stab at explaining. "I was pregnant during Graduation. I went into a coma, and when I woke back up, I had a nice lovely scar on my stomach," Faith raised her shirt far enough so Angel could see the long, thin scar.  
  
"What happened to your child?" Angel asked once Faith's shirt dropped back to its original place.  
  
"The Council took her. As far as I know they took her, probably killed her too. You know how it is. They took my child," Faith looked at him. "You got yours back, and I never will."  
  
Suddenly Angel did something Faith never expected he leaned over and gave her a hug. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here," he said simply, and left.  
  
Faith sighed and closed her eyes. Why was life this hard for her? What did she do wrong? Oh yeah, kill a guy. Letting out another sigh, she stood up. The night of slaying had worn her out, and she was tired. She shrugged when she remembered that Dawn was in her bed, oh well the brat would just have to share.  
  
The next morning Faith woke up to a warm body next to her, snuggling closer. Covering a yawn, Faith sat up, trying not to disturb the small child.  
  
"Morning," the small voice of Dawn greeted the silent Faith.  
  
"Good morning," Faith answered her, not even bothering to get out of bead. It was Saturday, and you slept in on Saturday.  
  
"Faith?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Yeah?" Faith answered, sleep still clouding her voice.  
  
"I needa go potty and I wanna watch cartoons," Dawn told her.  
  
Grinning sheepishly, Faith got out of bed, and led Dawn to the bathroom. They then walked downstairs in order to watch cartoons. Around ten o'clock, the cartoons ended and Dawn was bored. Figuring this was the best time to bring up the subject of the previous night, Faith asked, "Do you remember what happened last night, with your mommy and daddy?"  
  
Dawn looked up at her, confusion written upon her face, "I don't have a mommy or a daddy," she stated simply.  
  
It was Faith's turn to be confused, "But then who were you with last night," she asked.  
  
Dawn blinked slowly; looking at least four times her age, "Darcy and Chuck. They were foster people. People took me away from my mommy because she was in the hospital while she had me and couldn't take care of me." Dawn answered the last part with seemingly little emotion, but why should she? She had never met her mother.  
  
Faith sighed; coincidences where happening, and if she knew anything, there were no such thing as coincidences. Looking down at the girl, she then looked at her watch, they hadn't even eaten breakfast. "How bout a peanut butter and banana sandwich?" Faith proposed, just as Dawn's stomach growled.  
  
"Okay!" Dawn grinned and jumped up.  
  
They were sitting in the kitchen as Connor strolled in a piece of paper in his hand.   
  
"Is that your schedule for next year?" Faith asked, as Connor tossed the paper on the table as he headed to the refrigerator.  
  
"Yup. And I got into the classes I wanted. And filled up my requirements. Since I had most of the completed, I only have four classes out of eight," Connor smirked as he took a swig of soda from the two liter bottle that sat in the fridge.  
  
"Ew, don't drink from the bottle. You'll do back wash and I don't want to drink your spit," Faith wrinkled her nose as she watched Connor shrug and pull a cup out of the cupboard.  
  
Dawn had wandered upstairs by that time, so only Connor and Faith were in the kitchens. Connor sat on the table as Faith cleaned up the brunch she and Dawn had shared.  
  
"So what are you going to do about it?" Connor asked nonchalantly.  
  
"It? By that do you mean Dawn?" Faith looked at the teenage boy.  
  
"Yeah, Dawn," Connor shrugged.  
  
"Well, go to child services and hopefully get custody of her. Then enroll her in kidnegarden. She's old enough right?" Faith gave a worried look to Connor.  
  
He laughed, "Faith, you're asking the wrong person. Remember I'm the one who grew up in another dimension."  
  
Faith shrugged and went upstairs, leaving Connor alone with his thoughts.  
  
Two days later Faith sat in the Child Services building, wearing a borrowed business suit from Cordelia, Dawn sat next to her, thoroughly engrossed in a coloring book that had been bought for her the day before.  
  
"Ms. Sanderson?" a fairly frazzled looking woman came out of the office.  
  
Faith smiled and took Dawn's hand, both following the woman into the small office. They sat down and Faith launched into her story of finding Dawn and explained what she thought might of happened. When the social worker, a Miss Rayando, heard the whole story, she sat back and thought for a moment.  
  
"Well this certainly is an awkward situation," she finally said, looking at worried Faith and the coloring Dawn.  
  
It was decided that a DNA test would be taken in order to see if Dawn was actually Faith's daughter. If she was, custody would be granted to Faith.  
  
September first rolled around, and Dawn was still at the Hyperion. Faith had her little girl back, and that's what really mattered.  
  
"Mama?" Dawn wandered into Faith's room. Their roles had fallen into place within the first week of Dawn staying there, and Faith couldn't imagine not having her little girl in her life.  
  
"Yes sweet heart?" Faith asked as she walked out of the bathroom, her robe tightly cinched around her waist.  
  
"Aunt Cordy told me told me that you had to help me pick something out, she's waiting," Dawn stood there, proud that she could deliver her message without a mistake.  
  
Faith grinned, "Just hold on a second and let me put on something other than a robe." In a few short minutes, Faith was clothed in a pair of jeans and a dark shirt.  
  
"It's about time," Cordelia said as the two walked in.  
  
Faith grinned, during the short time she had been at Sunnydale high school, she had always admired the former May Queen from afar, she always seemed to know what to do, and what to say. She always seemed to be on top of things. And now, when she could get to know her better, Faith found a friend.  
  
"Well I had to get dressed. No need to give anyone who doesn't need a show, well, a show," Faith smirked as Cordelia headed towards Dawn's closet.   
  
After rummaging around for a minute or two, Cordelia came out with two dresses, a pink one, and a green one. Dawn made a face when she saw the pink monstrosity; it was covered with frills and lace. "Who bought that?" she asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust.  
  
Cordelia and Faith shared a look, sighing, Cordelia tossed the pink dress behind her. "So do you want to wear the green dress?" she asked sweetly.  
  
Dawn shook her head. "Can I wear jeans instead?"  
  
Cordelia look dumbfounded, "But it's your first day of school. Don't you want to look pretty?"  
  
Dawn shrugged, "Nope. I wanna be comfortable."  
  
Faith grinned. "That's my baby girl. Is there a clean shirt in there, green maybe? Grab a pair of jeans too," the woman tried to mediate.  
  
Cordelia sighed and threw up her hands; didn't people think the first day of school was important? But she had gotten to know the mite of a girl, and if she knew anything about the five-year-old Dawn, she was headstrong and stubborn, just like her mother.  
  
Faith walked Dawn into the elementary school building; they were closing in on Dawn's classroom when Faith kneeled down to Dawn's level.  
  
"Okay, I want to set a few guide lines, okay?" Faith asked her.  
  
Dawn nodded.  
  
"Okay, listen to the teacher. And stand up for yourself, but don't start fights. If you need me, tell the teacher your tummy hurts and go to the nurse to call me, okay?" Faith asked. "Repeat what I just said."  
  
"Listen to the teacher. And stand up for myself, but don't start fights. If I need you, tell the teacher my tummy hurts and go to the nurse to call you," Dawn repeated proudly. She had a good memory.  
  
Faith smiled and stood up, "So are you ready for your first day of school?" she asked excitedly, mostly for Dawn's benefit.  
  
Dawn grinned, "Yup!" Faith smiled at her and they walked towards the classroom. Now only if Faith was ready for Dawn's first day of school.  
  
Faith practically ran down the hall, Dawn's first day of school was almost over, and she wanted to be the first parent there. She hid just around the corner; a few minutes later another woman came up behind her.  
  
"Are you waiting for a child too?" the woman asked after a few moments. Faith nodded; a faint blush came to her cheeks. The woman laughed, "It's nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart. It's my second child's first day of school, and I'm just as excited as you are."  
  
Faith smiled, hearing the sounds of happy children. "I can't wait to see Dawn again. It was hard, not having her around today."  
  
The woman sighed sympathetically, "And it never gets any easier. I'm Anita Black by the way." She stuck out a hand, and Faith took it, shaking it.  
  
"Faith Sanderson," Faith introduced herself as the two women rounded the corner.  
  
They watched as excited sounds of small children echoed. Faith could see Dawn's chocolate brown haired head bob up and down, a black haired little boy following her. Finally the teacher let the five-year-olds out and Dawn came barreling towards Faith. "Mama!" she cried.  
  
Faith crouched down just in time to catch the bullet that was Dawn. "How was your day?" Faith swung up the five-year-old.  
  
"It was fun. But the girls are stupid, they don't want to do anything fun, but the boys do. I met one that was really cool, his name's Aiden and we played all day, except when the teacher told us not to, cause you said I had to listen to the teacher, on and Mr. Thomas wanted to talk to you," Dawn said in one breath.  
  
Faith smiled and looked over to Anita Black, only to see the little boy she had seen Dawn with. "Anita," Faith broke in. "my daughter told me she and your son seemed to have struck up a friendship. Would he like to come to play on Saturday?" she offered.  
  
The little boy, Aiden, looked at his mother hopefully, who smiled down at her child, "I don't see why not. Why don't you give me your number and we'll go over specifics tonight." Faith gratefully handed the woman the number to Angel Investigations and then went to see what Mr. Thomas, Dawn's teacher, wanted.  
  
************  
I could save the world  
Since the night your love saved me  
Maybe I can't save the world  
But as long as you believe  
Maybe I could save the world  
"Save the World", Bon Jovi  
************  
  
Author's note: Connor never slept with Cordy, and he's fifteen. So he's in school a sophomore. Thank you. Please review.  
  



	3. So Sorry

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
It's Monday again and it feels like it never ends.  
Where did your life go?  
Did you forget what it was like?  
This week is way too slow, it'll never end.  
"Friday Nite", Slick Shoes  
************  
  
2014, Los Angeles, CA  
  
Dawn, if you don't hurry up, I'm leaving without you!" Connor pounded on the door of the fifteen-year-old girl.  
  
The door jerked open, revealing a sleepy eyed Dawn. She glared at the 26-year-old man. "You wouldn't dare," she told him before she slammed the door in his face.  
  
"I curse the day I decided to take a job at St Vincent's St. Mary's," he muttered to himself, and went back to his room, in order to make sure he had everything for the first day of school.  
  
By the time Connor was walking downstairs, Dawn was munching on a piece of toast talking to her mother. "You ready?" Connor asked, not bothering to look up from his palm polite.  
  
"You bet I am. Love ya Ma, Aiden and I will swing by sometime after school okay?" Dawn called as she followed Connor out into the California morning. "Shit it's cold," Dawn muttered under her breath.  
  
Connor looked at her, and his jaw dropped when he saw what she was wearing. "You know, if you wore clothes, you'd be warmer," he remarked. She was wearing a short skirt, a tank top, and strappy heels. "And it's people like you that make them consider uniforms," he said as an afterthought.  
  
She shrugged and put on a helmet, her bag at her side. "Just let me get on the bike, you get on, and drive. The sooner I can get into a building the better." With minimal difficulty she slid onto Connor's antique Harley that his father had gotten him for his 20th birthday.  
  
Shrugging Connor got on the bike and they rode off.  
  
As soon as they reached the school of St. Vincent's St. Mary, Dawn slipped down the north wing, where her locker stood. "And so starts another school year," she muttered to herself as the lock's dial was expertly spun.  
  
"And another year of Sister Mary Francis glaring at me during Religious Ed," a voice said from behind her.  
  
"Aiden!" Dawn turned and flung herself into her best friend's arms.  
  
"Hey Dawn, so what's the plan for tonight?" Aiden asked after they had gotten over the hugging and so forth.  
  
Dawn shrugged as she slid to the cheaply carpeted floor. "Not much. I told my mom that we'd swing by after school. But other than that, we're free. Why you have any ideas?" Dawn looked at her best friend, who just shrugged.  
  
"Well I was thinking, you might want to you know…" Aiden stumbled over the words.  
  
Dawn smiled softly, "It's okay. I know." Sitting in silence, they spent the next twenty minutes for the starting bell to ring. When that happened, the whole sophomore grade would pile into a classroom in order to get briefed by their grade advisor, who was some poor teacher who got elected to lead the 2017 class. The thirty or so other sophomores milled around, many catching up on went on over the summer.  
  
St. Vincent's St. Mary was a small Catholic School that was a small paradise in the city of LA. Built around a large courtyard, the stone structure was two stories built in a square shape. The second floor had a covered walkway connecting two sides.   
  
"Will grades 10-12 please report to their advisor's classroom. Freshmen report to the cafeteria. I repeat; will grades 10-12 please report to their advisor's classroom. Freshmen report to the cafeteria," the voice of Father Burton, the principal of the school, came over the loud speakers.  
  
"And so another school year begins," Aidan said as he stood up, helping Dawn up.  
  
She quirked a smile as she shook her head, trying to get her bangs out of her face. "Hopefully this year will be better than last," she told him.  
  
Freshman year had not been fun, for either of them. Due to circumstances beyond her control, Dawn had been in and out of school for most of the year. Life hadn't been made any easier when she had convinced herself that her biology teacher had it in for her, and she started skipping classes. After about a month, she was found out and forced back into class. She had passed though, and she never wanted to see Sister Catherine again.  
  
Aidan nodded somberly and they walked into room 115, Connor's (or rather Mr. Chase as he was known to the students) history room. Taking a seat in the back, Dawn waved to a girl in a pair of jeans and a nondescript tee shirt.  
  
"Whose that?" Aidan asked. Neither he nor Dawn really tried to talk to many of their classmates, call them anti-social, but that's just how they were.  
  
Dawn shrugged, "Elizabeth. She made sure I didn't flunk Bio. She's cool."  
  
Aidan nodded and left it at that. They sat through Connor's speech about the new year and so forth, often writing notes back and forth. The speech was the same as last year, it outlined the rules and so forth, Dawn ended up leaning her head on Aidan's shoulder and dozed for a bit, not really caring what Connor had to say.  
  
"Oi, wake up," Aidan poked her shoulder and Dawn yawned. "Here," Aidan shoved a piece of paper under Dawn's nose.  
  
"What is this?" Dawn mumbled as she stood up, following him out of the classroom, but not before giving a wave in Connor's general direction.  
  
"Your schedule. You're lucky we have first period together, math." Aidan grinned; he was good in math, and in science. Two plus two always equaled four and two hydrogen atoms plus an oxygen atom made one water molecule. Both science and math were concrete, facts were there, it was proven. Which wasn't the case in Religious Education, where Aidan was sure Sister Mary Francis was lying in wait for him.  
  
Dawn groaned, but followed her friend anyway. It was the first day of school, no use in starting it off on the wrong foot, besides she had a free the next period, she could always pop into the cafeteria/snack bar and pick up some coffee or tea. Anything that had life giving caffeine.  
  
The day passed agonizingly slowly, much to the distress of Dawn; she missed her summer time laziness. She almost fell asleep in Spanish and if it wasn't for Elizabeth sitting behind her, she would have had an earful from Sister Kristen, as if the woman didn't hate her enough already.  
  
When the final bell rang, Dawn flounced down to the first floor, where Aidan lounged. "You had the last period off?" Dawn asked, amazed.  
  
He nodded, silently.  
  
"And you waited for me?"   
  
Again he nodded, still silent. But he stood up as she shoved useless schoolbooks into her locker. Luckily none of her teachers were so anal retentive that they made her cover any textbooks they made her use.  
  
"I gotta pop in and tell Connor that he doesn't have to wait for me," Dawn dashed down the hall, Aidan just stood there, watching his best friend try to run in her ridiculously tall heels.  
  
"You ready?" Aidan asked as she walked back out, looking just a bit more serene.  
  
Dawn smiled happily and nodded, "I can't stay till my curfew tonight though. Connor just reminded me that I have an audition today at four. So we'll go and hang out for about an hour. Where to?" she asked as they walked out into the sunshine.  
  
Aidan shrugged, "I figured we'd hit up the music store, see if we can get any discounts on stuff," he told her. The local music store, just around the corner from St. Vincent's St. Mary, called Club 47, was a popular hang out for the duo.  
  
Dawn shrugged as she chewed on her right pinkie, a horrid habit she had picked up from childhood. She didn't really care. As long as she never ruined her nails, she was fine. Dawn was always meticulous about her nails, they always had to be manicured and usually colored.  
  
Four o'clock rolled around and Dawn found herself in the company of her Aunt Cordelia and worried, "What if I totally mess up the screen test and decide I am terrible and blacklist me?" she said, slight terror in her voice.  
  
Cordelia laughed, since she wasn't really looking for acting jobs anymore and she had very good people skills after working with Angel Investigations for so long, she had become Dawn's unofficial manager and agent. Hugging the younger girl by the shoulders, she tried to reassure her. "You're talented, and you have an excellent memory, and if they don't want you, you don't need them."  
  
Dawn beamed and sighed, she was still nervous.  
  
The next day started like the one before it, Connor banged on her door and Dawn rushed, they rode to school on Connor's motorcycle and the morning was spent hanging out with Aidan until the first bell rang and then they went to classes. In fact this was how the whole week was spent. The afternoons were spent hanging out together, either at Club 47, Aidan's house or just at the Starbucks across the street, it didn't matter.   
  
Friday was finally here and Dawn practically ran down the stairs and to her locker. Aidan was already there, but stayed wisely silent as she slammed the locker door. She then started to hurry to Connor's classroom, her bag bumping against her hip.  
  
Seeing that his best friend was upset, Aidan hurried after her. Dawn was always there for him, so why should he be there for her? He got there just as Dawn threw a US History Textbook against the wall, making a satisfying thunk as it hit.  
  
"I hate her, I fucking hate her!" Dawn screamed, seething.  
  
Connor seemed unaffected, "You hate who?" he asked, his eyebrow raised as he sat down to grade some essays.  
  
Dawns eyes were narrowed in hate, "Sister Mary Francis and Kelly Prescott. We were talking about sins and such in class and I swear to god that Sister was looking at me when she was talking about it. And then Kelly has the nerve to bring everything up, the little bitch."  
  
Aidan smirked slightly, "Aww, come on Dawn, you know Kelly spouts off more crap than Sister Mary Francis does, and in a less amount of time too. Don't let her get to you."  
  
Dawn sighed and nodded, "Your right. I'm just stressed. My father is coming today and I really don't feel like being with him. And then everything. I'm going to wander a bit, I'll be back in an hour," she headed toward the door, where Aidan stood.  
  
"Want me to come with?" he asked simply.  
  
She shook her head and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. "No, this is something I gotta do myself." Giving her best friend a tight smile, she left the room and went outside, heading to the church or more like the graveyard.  
  
Wandering the manicured walkways, Dawn trained her eyes forward. She really didn't see anything I front of her, but her feet knew the way, so she did not trip or fall on anything. As her feet carried her, she continued to cry blindly. Finally she stopped at a grave that sat under a weeping willow tree. Dropping down to her knees, Dawn's fingers traced over the words.  
  
Wesley Lawrence Wyndham-Price  
1978-2013  
A devoted friend and father,  
who gave his life to save another  
  
Fat tears rolled down her face as she traced over the last line. "I'm so sorry daddy," she whispered to herself, hopeful that her father could hear him, wherever he was.  
  
The day that he had died still haunted her dreams. It was her fault that he had met his untimely death at the hands of a vampire. If she hadn't begged to go with her parents on patrol, her mother wouldn't have given in, and she wouldn't have consequently been a magnet for all the lovely bloodsuckers. Her father had pushed her out of the way in the last minute, and the vampire, in a rage snapped the man's neck. By that time Dawn had gotten a stake and had dusted it.  
  
Still crying, she leaned forward, her head resting on the gravestone. As soon as her tears dripped off her face and on to the marble stone, the air started to tingle slightly. But it wasn't enough for the distraught girl to notice anything strange. She cried more, and the tears dripped quicker onto the stone, and started to make a small puddle on the smooth stone. The air tingled more with raw power; suddenly Dawn fell back, her energy drained. As she fell backwards, her head hit a rock, plunging her into unconsciousness.   
  
And nobody was there to see the air shimmer as if somebody stood there. The shimmer than began to move, slowly leaving the grave and Dawn, eventually leaving the bounds of the graveyard and to the streets of LA.  
  
************  
Tell me nothing ever counts  
Lashing out or breaking down  
Still somebody loses 'case  
There's no way to turn around  
"Show Me Love", t.A.T.u  
************  
  
Author's Note: The third chapter, and the plot's already coming about! Yayness for me! *grin* And Wesley is not the thingy we all saw, cause Wes is a good guy, so he can't be the big bad. And I can promise you that Jen will flounce me enough for killing of Wesley. Sorry but the bloody plot bunnies got to me, and the Eve (my muse) sided with them. So therefore this fic is slightly cut short cause I had to.   
  
Thank you to my reviewers: Ivorycat, gigetgirl, and zelda.   
  
gigetgirl: I know the last chapter was somewhat rushed, it was because I just wanted to get to the main part of the fic, which is this.  
  
Hints for future chapters:   
1. There are subplots.  
2. I took inspiration from a good friend of mine.  
3. I have a good background in the supernatural, especially as what Willow dressed up as in a previous season.  
  



	4. Trauma

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
You shut your mouth  
How can you say  
I go about things the wrong way?  
I am human and I need to be loved  
Just like everybody else does  
"How Soon is Now?", t.A.T.u  
************  
  
"Dawn? Dawn!" Aidan yells as he ran through St. Vincent's St Mary's graveyard. She'd been gone for over an hour and Aidan, being the best friend he was, was worried about her. Rounding the bend, Aidan saw Dawn lying on the ground. Furrowing his brow, he hurried toward her. A sense of foreboding squeezed harshly in his chest. Pushing the feeling away, he kept his eyes trained on his prize, his best friend.  
  
The air smelt of brimstone and sulfur. Sticking the random fact in the back of his mind, Aidan hurried to Dawn's side. After checking the see if she was still breathing, he pulled her into his arms. The two sat under the shade of the weeping willow, the sun setting behind them.  
  
If Dawn weren't unconscious, Aidan would be in bliss, a very nice bliss in fact. Dawn's china doll skin, with just a hint of redness in the cheeks, glowed palely in the bit of sunlight that was left. Her lips, colored in a faint golden color, and reminded him slightly of a peach. Biting back a sigh, Aidan hugged Dawn around the shoulders, blocking the harsh assault of the wind sweeping over her prone form.  
  
"Aidan?" Dawn's eyes fluttered open, only to find her best friend looking down at her, a worried look in his eyes.  
  
Aidan smiled, happy that his friend seemed to be okay. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Did you have a nice trip?" he asked Dawn stand up before scrambling up himself.  
  
Dawn scowled at his attempt at humor as she braced herself against her friend. Looking at her watch, her scowl deepened. "Fuck, my father is supposed to pick me up in fifteen minutes."  
  
As she tried to walk away, Aidan held her back. "I'm walking with you. You were unconscious when I found you. You are in no shape to walk alone. Besides, I think Mr. Chase already left," he referred to Connor, who used Cordelia's last name since his high school days.  
  
Dawn grinned at her best friend, "Thanks. Its times like this I'm really glad you're my best friend."  
  
Aidan grinned weakly, "I'm glad you're my best friend too," he said cheerily, but inside he felt like crying on the inside.  
  
They walked in an amicable silence towards the school's parking lot.   
  
"I thought you said Connor already went home?" Dawn gave Aidan a look of curiosity.  
  
He just grinned back at her, "I know I did. But I wanna show you something, besides, I think it will be useful in a situation like this." Patting her arm in reassurance, they rounded the building's corner, and walking into the parking lot. The only thing that sat there was a black scooter.  
  
Dawn cast an inquisitive look upon her friend. "Where in the seven hells did you get enough money for that?"  
  
Aidan grinned slyly and shook his head, "That's for me to know, and you not to find out. Now come on. I'll get you home sooner than it would take to walk." He threw her the helmet that he had in one of the side bins. "Here, you're a bit more important, so you get the helmet.  
  
He waited for her to become seated before he took his own place, "Ready?" he asked, she nodded and they were off.  
  
In ten short minutes they were parking the scooter and Dawn slid off the back, and walked up to the car in front of it. The thing was a bright yellow mustang, the top down. "He's a fucking showoff," she told Aidan, who just nodded.  
  
"Hold it right there," Faith's voice said.  
  
Dawn whirled around and took of the helmet. "Mama!" she said, a false cheer in her voice.  
  
Faith gave a cool look towards her daughter and then looked towards Aidan, " Aidan Coyle Black! Where is your helmet?" she yelled, a scowl firmly placed on her youthful face.  
  
Aidan blushed when Faith used his middle name. "You're daughter has it," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.  
  
Faith blinked for a moment, before turning towards her daughter who was in mid kick. "What are you doing?" she asked, her eyebrow raised in question.  
  
Dawn giggled a bit, a sure sign she was nervous, "Nothing?" she said.  
  
"Didn't look like nothing," Faith countered. She was about to go on, when the form of Alexander Harris came outside. When he saw the slight of the slight dent in the side, he freaked out and demanded to know who did it.  
  
"Oh grow up, it's a freaking car," Dawn drawled, as she tossed Aidan his helmet.  
  
"Apologize please," Faith said in a bored voice, this happened every single time that her daughter's biological father, or, as she liked to put it, her sperm donor, to visit.  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes, "Fine. I'm sorry," she turned away from Xander and towards her mother, "Happy?" she asked her mother, whom just nodded her head quietly. The big blow up was going to be happening any second, and she would wait.  
  
Xander's face paled when he heard Dawn's off handed tone. "Don't I get a little respect?" he growled out.  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes, "No," she deadpanned.  
  
"But I'm your dad!" he was grasping for straws. And quiet possibly everyone knew it, save for Xander himself.  
  
Dawn's eyes blazed. She stood in front of him, her eyes hard. "You're not my dad! He's dead; he's in the ground rotting!" there were tears rolling down her cheeks again.  
  
Xander's face softened, "Dawnster," he said softly.  
  
This immediately fed into Dawn's anger. "Don't call me that! I'm not her!" she yelled. "I'm not you're precious Dawn! She died, I know she died, Uncle Spike told me about her and what happened. Now just get it threw your head that I'm not her!" she yelled at him before running into the hotel.  
  
Aidan figured it was best that he went home, as he put on his helmet, he was glad Dawn had already tossed it to him before the man had even come outside. "See ya Miss Faith!" he called to the woman who glared at Alexander Harris, before he left he looked at the older man. His eyes were dull when he started to talk. "She's right you know. She's not who you think she is." And with that, he was off.  
  
Xander looked at Faith. "LA is a bad influence on Dawn," he stated.  
  
Faith raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? Yet she's happy here. She has family, friends. Aidan would die for Dawn; he's the kind of person I'd want on my side. LA is her home and mine."  
  
Xander snorted, "Family, friends? I'm surprised you count demons among the numbers, but then again, with your record…" he trailed off, a smirk playing at his lips.  
  
Faith had her eyes closed and counted to ten. Then her eyes snapped open. "Spike and Angel are much more noble than you ever were. And don't bring up the past, we all know your little history of shacking up with demons."  
  
Xander's face turned a very unhealthy color of red; "You promote this intolerable behavior! What with this acting thing she's doing."  
  
Faith sighed, her anger getting the better of her. Her eyes narrowed. "Acting thing? Well let me tell you this, it's better that she's doing something like this, than rather…drugs? I know my daughter, and this is the best thing for her. Good day Alexander." With that, Faith walked back into the Hyperion, in order to find out what was wrong with her daughter.  
  
Xander stood there, not knowing what to say. Turning, he looked at his car. And the dent stood out. Damn, he'd have to get that fixed.  
  
Hours later, and in a different part of LA, a teen woke up suddenly from a deep sleep. At the foot of her bed stood a man, his eyes tired and his hair slightly graying. There was just a hint of a scar on his neck. The thing that made him different, well besides the fact that he was standing at the foot of the teen's bed, well what made him really different was that he was dead.  
  
The teen sat up, she was about sixteen, dark hair fell down her back as if it was a cape. "Don't you guys ever give up? You know, at least until the sun is up?"   
  
************  
Going all the way,  
Looking so helpless,  
Everyday, daddy's little defect,  
All the same,  
Keep your secrets away  
"Daddy's Little Defect", Sugarcult  
************  
  
Sayra Louise- Dawn as Faith's daughter? Well let me put it like this, Faith had sex, she got pregnant and while she was in a coma, the baby was taken away from her. I only used Dawn as Faith's daughter because the Key would need to be part of a slayer in order to protect it. Besides, this actually works, unlike Dawn just popping up in the beginning of season five of Buffy. I hope this cleared it up for you, and I look forward to your reviews.  
  
Thanks to the other reviewers:  
Bunny  
A  
Lorelai Anastasia  
gigetgirl*  
Darklight  
balticwoman*  
  
*'s are for people who reviewed more than one chapter.  
  
Thanks for reading and please review, the plot is coming up. Can't you see it? Can't you see it? Hehe, see ya all later.  
  
  



	5. Haunted

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
You're always trying to change me  
You only say if only  
And I keep listening to all the things you said  
You're so miserable and   
You're so _TYPICAL_  
"Typical", The Moffatts  
************  
  
Someone knocked on Dawn's door, "Go away!" she shouted as she pulled on a sweatshirt. Again there was a knock and Dawn repeated "Go away!".  
  
"Pet, if you go out that window, I'll drag you back inside," a British voice came through the door.  
  
Glaring at her door, Dawn threw off her sweatshirt and fell back onto her bed. "Several hours ago he came and made me cry, yet I can't get it out of my head." She sat up, her hair mussed. "Argh! I wanna kill something," she screamed as she threw a pillow at the opposite wall. It made an uninspiring plop. Screaming in frustration, Dawn threw another pillow blindly.  
  
"You know, I don't particularly like it when things are thrown at my. But runaway pillows are the _least_ of my worries," a female's voice said.  
  
Dawn looked up and saw a girl about her age standing there. Black hair was falling out of her ponytail and it stuck to pale, sweaty skin. Her dark eyes were magnified because of glasses and she stood there in a tee shirt and a pair of jeans with a careless aura about her.  
  
"Who are you and why are you standing in my bedroom?" Dawn asked, now sitting up and scooting father away from the strange girl.  
  
"I'm standing here for my health, what do you think?" the other girl snapped before wincing slightly. "All right, all right," she said softly, hoping that Dawn couldn't hear her. It'd be hard enough to explain without Dawn thinking she was crazy. "Look, my name is Eve, and I know someone who is rather insistent that he speaks to you."  
  
Dawn blinked slowly. "Then why come to my room in the middle of the night?"  
  
Eve looked sheepish; "Well he's sorta…dead."  
  
Whatever reaction Eve was expecting, what she got, was not it. "Dead…okay. So where is he?" Dawn asked.  
  
Eve blinked, "He's standing write next to me, tapping his foot with an irate look upon his face."  
  
Dawn blinked, mimicking Eve. "He is?"  
  
Eve sighed; she was tired, and after all the rather impatient dead man, who sounded British, had woken her up. He said something and she cocked her head, and sighed. Nodding slowly she turned to the other girl in the room. Dawn was giving her a strange look, thinking she was mad no doubt.  
  
"Look, if this man's right, I'll be able to show him to you. Hold out your right hand," Eve instructed, Dawn held out her hand and Eve took it. As the other girl drew strange symbols on her hand, Dawn tried not to giggle. It tickled. But that didn't last long, as she let out a small gasp as she felt a pin prick in the middle of her palm.  
  
Looking at the other girl, Dawn saw that Eve had pricked her own hands and was about to hold it over hers, in order for the blood to drip on to her hand. "Hold on, how do I know you don't have some funky disease that could kill me?" she demanded.  
  
Eve stared at her, before her face broke out into a grin, "You don't." As the girl's blood dripped onto Dawn's own wound, the air became wavy for the moment, before everything went back to normal. When Dawn looked at her hand, there was no mark, like nothing had happened. She looked up at Eve and screamed.  
  
"Who are they?" she pointed at the two men who stood behind the other girl. One was a youngish guy, not much older than she was. His hair was long and pulled to the base of his neck. He wore a tight tee shirt and tight jeans. The other one was older, and after a few moments, Dawn recognized him. "Daddy?"  
  
Wesley smiled at his adopted daughter before it turned serious. "I saw how you were acting earlier young lady, I maybe transparent to you and invisible to others. But I will not have my daughter acting like that."  
  
Dawn's eyes bugged out when she heard her father say this. "You haven't changed, at all."  
  
"Aw isn't this sweet, a father daughter bonding moment," an unknown voice said.  
  
"Shut up Michael," Eve hissed.  
  
Dawn turned to the other person, or thing as the case may be and glared at him. "And who are you?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.  
  
He grinned, "Michael, personal haunter of Eve over there," tossing a cheeky grin towards the other girl, he leaned down and tried to pick up Dawn's hand. It passed through, leaving Dawn to shiver and the contact.  
  
Eve ignored Michael and turned to Dawn. "If he bother's you too much, just tell me. Unlike you, I can touch him."  
  
Dawn nodded slowly, unnerved that she could see dead people. "What did he mean when he said personal haunter?"  
  
Eve rolled her eyes. "Long story. But to make it short, I was born when he died. We share soul energy I guess you could say. Or that the angels messed up and when they were delivering my soul, they forgot to pick him up."  
  
Michael looked offended; "You talk and act like I'm a piece of unwanted junk!"  
  
Eve turned to him, a sly smile on her face, "You are."  
  
This continued for a few minutes until the ghost of Wesley had enough. "Children, _please_."  
  
The three looked at him.   
  
He took an unneeded breath before continuing. "We're in trouble. That's why I got Eve to show me to you."  
  
Eve and Dawn shared a look. They were pretty much normal teens. And trouble was never good. "What kind of trouble do you mean?" Eve said first.  
  
"Dawn opened a portal, and something not so nice popped out," Wesley said.  
  
Dawn's eyes were wide. "I opened a portal. Are you crazy? Don't you think I would know if opened a portal," she was quiet for a second, before starting up again. "But then again, maybe I'm the crazy one. After all I'm talking to the ghost of my dead father."  
  
Wesley looked at his daughter sadly, "I'm afraid neither one of us had a mental deficiency. You opened a portal and let some big nasty out. All we have to do is get it back to it's original dimension."  
  
"Not so easy," Eve broke in. She shook her head. "What you say Dawn brought out, a demon, will not be that easy to get rid of. Most likely it's a rouge spirit. And if anything, spirits are hard enough when they're passive to get rid of. We'll need help."  
  
Wesley's eyes traveled towards the door and Dawn's eyes got even bigger. "No!" she said with forcefulness. "There is no way I'm involving them. They already think I'm about to jump off a building or something. And I tell them that I can talk to you, they'll ship me off for sure."  
  
Wesley raised an eyebrow, "And where do you suppose we get help?"  
  
Dawn grinned slightly before reaching over next to her bed and picked up the phone. "From the one person I trust with my life, Aidan."  
  
************  
I think I'm going crazy, can't take it anymore  
Got one thing on my mind all the time  
And it's driving me crazy, I think I'm going crazy  
And I don't know what I'm doing  
"Crazy", the Moffatts  
************  
Thank you for reviewing:  
panthea   
Ivorycat*  
Cassie-bear01  
gidgetgirl*  
  
* are for people who have reviewed multiple chapters.  
  
Author's Notes: Hmmm...chapter six is already written, and it will come out quicker if you all review. Oh, and if plot bunnies come around, blame my friend Jen, because hers attack me. Stupid rodents. But that's about it. Next chapter deals with lots of fluffy-ness and is only written to satisfy a reviewer's needs (that sounds dirty!). But don't worry, it should appear in the next few days.  



	6. Flashbacks

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
I'm just a kid  
And life is a nightmare  
I'm just a kid  
I know that it's not fair  
"I'm just a Kid", Simple Plan  
************  
  
Dawn and Aidan sat in their school's chapel in one of Dawn's favorite places. Aidan was leaning against the wall and had his legs outstretched, Dawn sat between them. Her head lay against his chest, and she breathed in time to his heartbeat.  
  
"You believe me, right?" Dawn asked, her voice drowsy because of the warm sunshine that washed over them.  
  
Aidan's arm's wrapped around Dawn, giving her a hug. She smiled at the simple touch of affection, it was not uncomment between them, but it always made Dawn feel warm inside to know that he cared for her,  
  
"I'm not sure if I do. But then again when have you lead me wrong before?" he asked her.  
  
Dawn looked up, and brushed a piece of black hair out of his green eyes. "Plenty of times. After all, weren't we known as troublesome twosome way back when?"  
  
He laughed; making a rumbling sound in his chest that reverberated back to Dawn. "We were a wicked pair, weren't we?"  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes. "That doesn't cover half of it dear. Now the question is, who cause the more trouble, and who was a fool for following."  
  
"I think," Aidan mused, "We're both even on the count. After all, neither of us were completely innocent every single time."  
  
**~ Flash Back ~  
**   
An eight-year-old Dawn and an eight-year-old Aidan stood in the kitchen of the Hyperion, alone. Aidan didn't see anything wrong with his friend's family living and owning a hotel, in fact, he thought it was cool. It was great to play hide and go seek in, although they had grown out of that game  
  
Now the two best friends were standing in the kitchen, trying to figure out where the vinegar and baking soda were. "Are you sure you have them?" Aidan asked impatiently as Dawn crawled up on the counter that was below where she knew the vinegar was stored.  
  
"Yes," she said, exasperated. "I already told you. We have vinegar, my daddy and uncle always put it on French-fries. It's really nasty, but I think it's a British thing." As she opened the cupboard. Plucking a bottle out of it, she held up her prize. "Ah-ha! I told ya we had it!" she put it down before she scrambled down herself.  
  
Aidan looked at her, "Well, do you have the baking powder?" he asked, his hands on his hips, giving Dawn the impression he was trying to imitate his mother.  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes at her best friend's antics. "Of course we have it. I told you, my uncle used it for a cake." Of course, Dawn wasn't going to tell which uncle was baking; Aidan would have a heart attack. After all, who wouldn't when the saw a green demon with red horns wearing a pink frilly apron to protect his purple suit? Well the people of the Hyperion wouldn't, they were used to it.  
  
"Well where is it?" Aidan asked, not believing that Dawn really knew where it was.  
  
Dawn shrugged, but went to climb up on another counter. Opening the cupboard, she found two things that said baking on it. "Which one?" she held up the round tin that had baking powder clearly written upon it as well as a box that said baking soda.  
  
Aidan looked at the two things she held up and squinted, trying to think of which one was right. "Both of them," he finally decided.  
  
Dawn nodded, taking him for the authority, and scrambled down, giving Aidan her prizes. "So what do we do now?" she asked, not really sure what they were going to be doing. The three things sat on the table, in front of a large bowl.  
  
Aidan looked at her. "I'm not really sure, Danny didn't really go over everything. He was too busy trying to finish his science project," he told her, Danny being his older brother by three years.  
  
They dumped both the baking powder and baking soda into the bowl, making a fine white powder come up in a cloud, making Dawn sneeze. Aidan laughed and poured a small bit of vinegar into the mixture of white powder. It foamed a bit and made the sound that you only heard with soda.  
  
"Cool!" both Aidan and Dawn, said at the same.  
  
"Put more in!" Dawn demanded eager to see the reaction again, and this time on a bigger scale.  
  
Aidan shrugged, and turned the bottle upside down, letting the clear liquid fall into the plastic bowl. The second it hit there was foaming action and when Dawn swirled the bowl a bit, it instantly grew larger. Soon the foam started to bubble down the sides.  
  
The two watched in childlike amazement. As soon said they heard someone come downstairs, they gave each other worried looks, but soon they looked towards the door the worried looks became one of innocence.  
  
Connor walked in, stopped, and sniffed. "Why does it smell like Spike or Wesley made French-fries?" he asked, looking at the two eight-year-olds. He then saw what sat between them. The nineteen-year-old's eyes narrowed. "What did you guys do?" he asked, walking closer.  
  
"Nothing," they chorused, the perfect picture of innocence, that is, if the evidence didn't sit right in front of them.  
  
"Come on, let's get this stinking mess cleaned up," Connor said finally. He was in no mood to go and chew them out; besides, it was just a little harmless fun that they had gotten into.  
  
**~ End Flashback ~  
**   
Dawn laughed at the memory slightly, that hadn't been the first, or the last, of their kitchen escapades.   
  
"What's so funny?" Aidan poked his best friend in the side, making her giggle even more.  
  
"Do you remember the baking soda and vinegar incident?" she asked, chuckling ever so often.  
  
The mention of the incident that had taken place years before, made Aidan smile, "Yeah I do. We had fun then, didn't we?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, but we've always had fun." Dawn leaned against him as she sighed; "Will we have fun like that when we grow up?"  
  
Aidan wrapped his arms around Dawn's shoulders. "Who said we were ever gonna grow up?" he whispered. "I'm never gonna grow up, because I'm a Toys R Us kid," he sang softly, eliciting a soft chuckle from Dawn.  
  
"Promise me you'll never change," Dawn said suddenly.  
  
Aidan sighed, "You know I can't promise that. But I'll be your friend, forever."  
  
Dawn smiled, but inside, she felt her heart breaking. What if she didn't want him to be a friend forever, what if she wanted him to be something more?  
  
"Remember the last time we had a moment like this?" Aidan asked suddenly.  
  
Dawn's smile grew larger, "Yeah, that was an interesting time, wasn't it?" she giggled a bit. That had been fun.  
  
**~ Flashback ~  
**   
It was the night of the eighth grade dinner dance, a sort of prom for the middle school students. Dawn and Aidan sat in the corner, by themselves.   
  
"This is nasty," Aidan poked at what was supposed to be chicken with a fork.  
  
Dawn nodded in agreement, "It's worse than the normal food they serve here," she decided as she too poked at it, as she did, the bracelets that she wore on her arms jingled. Finally the girl couldn't take anymore of it, and pushed the plate away. "I'll eat at home. I don't care anymore."  
  
Aidan laughed, and pushed his away too. They sat and talked for a few minutes before Dawn stood up. "This party bites," she declared and started walking towards the exit, Aidan quickly followed his best friend outside.   
  
As they walked to the park that was a common hangout for them after school, it started to rain. Hurrying toward the gazebo, Dawn quickly rid herself of her shoes, stockings, purse and all of her jewelry, leaving only her necklace on. Her hair, unpinned, hung down in waves of chocolate. As she did this Aidan just stood there. "What are you doing?" he asked, eyeing the growing pile of discarded items.  
  
"I'm going to run in the rain, you coming?" Dawn asked, looking at him expectantly.  
  
"Hold on," Aidan said before he pulled off his sport coat and tie as well as his socks and shoes.  
  
Soon they were running around like idiots, Dawn most of all. She ran circles around Aidan, who just stood there, letting the water run down his face, and soak into his clothes. She ran about, her toes sinking slightly in the damp ground. Her hair was soaked and her make-up was running, but her smile lit up her whole face.  
  
"Come on!" Dawn yelled, tugging at her friend's hand.  
  
He pulled her back and she fell against his chest. They looked into one another's eyes and soon they found themselves kissing, in the rain. It only lasted for a second or two, and when they were foot apart, they looked at each other again, not meeting eyes. Blushes were creeping across their faces as Aidan spoke up.  
  
"Let's just say that never happened, okay?" he asked. "You're my best friend, I could never hurt you. I promise I never will," he touched her face softly, and tried to wipe away the tears and rain drops.  
  
Dawn nodded and they walked back to the gazebo to collect their things and walk back to the school.  
  
**~ End Flashback ~  
**   
They sat together in silence s the sun beat down on them, creating a warm blanket of comfort. Even though they were silent, they understood each other. Suddenly, something blocked their sunlight.  
  
Looking up, Dawn saw it was Eve. "You're blocking our sunlight," she told the other girl, as well as Wesley and Michael, although Aidan couldn't see them.  
  
Eve rolled her eyes. "Yeah well, getting this roving demon spirit is a bit more important than your sunlight. So why don't you and your lover boy get up so we can go research."  
  
Dawn sighed and glared in the general direction of her father, she knew he probably had something to do with the idea of researching. "Fine, but we're doing it at your place. People at home ask too many questions."  
  
Eve rolled her eyes, "Fine, let's go," she said finally.  
  
They were about a block away from the school when Dawn spoke up; "He's not my lover boy."  
  
Eve gave her a weird look, "Huh?" she asked.  
  
"Aidan," Dawn clarified, "he's not my lover boy. We're not going out. He's just my best friend."  
  
"Oh," Eve said, and the small group continued to walk to Eve's apartment.  
  
************  
Was happiness a fad?  
Or was it lost and found again behind the issues.  
It might not be so bad,  
We're all addicted to our tragedy  
I guess it's what it had to be.  
"Nothing on my Back", Sum 41  
************  
  
Thank you's go to:  
Danica  
Ivorycat*  
gidgetgirl*  
  
*sigh* Where are the people who reviewed before, are you reading....because I thought you liked the story. I mean, you all tell me how original it is, but I really have a question, if it's so original, why don't you keep reading it? There are fun times ahead, and I was sorta hoping that you would be along for the ride, And I'm not downplaying the reivews I do get, because I'll see them and I'll be really, really happy. So please, could you please review and tell me what you think? I try to post quickly as well as write quickly, but if you aren't going to respond....why should I?  
  
Well that's about it. Thanks for reading, and please, I beg of you, review.  



	7. Dead or Alive

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
We can live forever if we try  
It's up to you, yeah you  
Yeah, yeah and nothing's gonna stop us now  
We're young…I stand for you  
"I Stand for You", Nick Carter  
************  
  
Dawn stood up; she couldn't take it anymore. "This is leading us no where. In none of these books does it say how to get rid of a demon spirit; in fact, we don't even know what kind of demon it is!"  
  
Aidan looked at her, "You're over reacting."  
  
Dawn turned to him. "Am I?" she asked.  
  
Aidan shrugged, "That pen seems to think so," he pointed to where Wesley was furiously writing on a piece of scrap paper 'Yes!' Dawn scowled in his general direction.  
  
"Sod off," she muttered before flopping down onto the couch next to Aidan, who put an arm around her shoulders. Wesley looked in their direction and glared at Aidan, who could not see him.  
  
When Dawn saw this, she sent another icy glare towards her father, "I thought I told you to bugger off?" she said.  
  
Aidan gave her a strange look, also forgetting that he could not see Wesley, and therefore could not see whom Dawn was cursing off. He sighed, and finally gave up. By that time Wesley had walked over, and remembered that Aidan couldn't see him, or hear him.  
  
But if he concentrated, he could feel him. Wesley steeled himself and with difficulty, he lifted Aidan's arm off of Dawn's shoulders.  
  
"Um…what's happening to me?" Aidan asked as he saw his arm move in the air, though not by his own accord.   
  
"Daddy," Dawn snapped.  
  
Wesley dropped Aidan's arm and gave Dawn an incredibly innocent look that Dawn had never seen before. In fact, she didn't know he could pull off that look, maybe it had something to do with being dead. Rolling her eyes Dawn stood up.  
  
"Well it's been real, but I actually have something to do," she said as she headed to the door.  
  
"We'll call ya tonight, or I'll send Wes after ya," Eve said.  
  
Dawn smiled softly and exited the room, intent on getting home quickly, so she would have time to get ready. Stepping into the hotel, she was face with a slightly more than irate Connor.  
  
"Where were you?" Connor attacked before Dawn could get properly into the hotel.  
  
"With Aidan," Dawn said vaguely. She was always with Aidan, it was a good alibi.   
  
Connor gave a very undignified snort. "You were with that Eve girl. I know her. She stays in detention almost every single day. I want you to stay away from her, she's bad news."  
  
Dawn eyed him warily, "I told you, I was with Aidan, last time I checked he wasn't a girl and his name wasn't Eve." With that she tossed her hair back and went upstairs. She felt a bit guilty by denying that she wasn't with Eve. But then again, she never said she wasn't….she just stressed the fact that she was with Aidan.  
  
Along with Eve and two ghosts.  
  
That fact could be hidden for now.  
  
Running into her room, Dawn headed to her closet, looking for the perfect outfit for the night. If her father was good for anything, it was clothes and any other kind of materialistic items. She liked pretty things.  
  
Searching through it, she came out with a black skirt and a black blouse. Shrugged, she'd go for the black look tonight. And if it didn't scare the prospective boyfriend, even slightly, he'd get brownie points.  
  
Quickly she did her makeup, making sure to put eyeliner on them, making them look dark and mysterious. She hopped down the hall, putting her shoes on.  
  
"Dawn!" Faith called from down stairs.  
  
Casting a baleful look at the banister, Dawn chose instead the stairs. "I'm coming, I'm coming." As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw that her mother's date was already there.  
  
"Dawn, I'd like you to meet Oz, Oz, this is my daughter Dawn." Faith introduced the pair.  
  
Dawn smiled and stuck out her hand, Oz looked at it for a minute before taking it. "Hey," he said finally.  
  
Dawn blinked and smiled wider, "You're short," she said plainly. He was only an inch or two taller than she was, and she was no tall person. At most she was 5'4".  
  
"Dawn!" my mother said with a note of horror in her voice.  
  
Oz just smirked slightly, "She's right though."  
  
Dawn looked at this guy, he got brownie points for sure. "So what are we doing tonight?" she asked, hoping to divert the attention off of her, and onto the night at hand.  
  
Faith shrugged, "Dinner mostly."  
  
The night past quickly and Dawn found herself falling into her bed, almost falling asleep the instant her head hit the pillow. After a few hours of blissful sleep a eerily translucent Wesley rudely awakened Dawn.  
  
"What is it?" Dawn muttered angrily as she saw her adopted father standing in front of her.  
  
"We got the break, but we need you to come now," he reported.  
  
Glaring at the spirit, Dawn stood up, clad only in her pajamas and headed towards the window. "Here goes nothing," she whispered and stepped out into the cold pre-dawn of the Los Angeles morning.  
  
Quickly running, in order to stay warm, Dawn made it to Eve's apartment in less than ten minutes.  
  
"Okay, what's the deal?" Dawn said as she burst into the room, not even noticing that Aidan was still there, still dressed in his school clothes.  
  
"We found a way to defeat the thing," Eve said decisively.  
  
Dawn stared at her, "Well, out with it!" she said, agitated.  
  
Eve shrugged, "I really don't know how to explain it. But they should know." She pointed to two figures that stood in the corner, and just then Eve just noticed them.  
  
They were plain looking pair, the girl was a red head that had her hair in a messy pony and the boy had a moderate build, he looked a bit like a surfer. But they were somewhat plain, a pair that you couldn't pick out of a crowd.  
  
The girl opened her mouth, "We know how to defeat the demon you summoned, unfortunately it won't be easy."  
  
Dawn gave her a bored look. "Well what ever we have to do will be okay. I don't want this evil whatnot to weigh in on my mind when I go to sleep at night. I happen to need my beauty sleep."  
  
The guy looked at his female companion. "Well you see, we told you it be hard. It is, very hard."  
  
Aidan rolled his eyes. "Oh stop beating around the bush. You know how hard it is? We have to die."  
  
************  
I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride  
I'm wanted dead or alive  
Wanted dead or alive  
"Wanted Dead or Alive", Bon Jovi  
************  
  
Thanks to:  
tigerlily  
Lorelai Anastasia*  
Buffy-Spike-Mad*  
Danica*  
gidgetgirl*  
Ivorycat*  
  
Hehe, wow people really do love me! But I know there are people out there who don't read, don't think I don't know about you. Because I sue to do the same thing. But I loved the reviews I got, so I'm not taking down the fic. Cause I was seriously thinking about doing that, and then when people e-mailed me, I'd send them a chapter. That way I knew people would respond. That's all I ask really. Please respond to my fic, I want to know what you think of it.  
  



	8. Summer

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
The walls just disappeared  
Nothing to surround me  
Keep me from my fears  
I'm unprotected  
"Naked", Avril Lavinge  
************  
  
Dawn looked at the people in front of her. "We have to die. Well doesn't that sound cheery?" she glared at Aidan who just glared back as well.  
  
"This isn't my fault, they were the one's who told me!" Aidan pointed to the two people that stood in front of her.  
  
"Alright, who the hell are you? You come traipsing in here, and tell me that in order to defeat this big nasty," Dawn demanded, her hands on her hips.  
  
The girl smiled, it seemed to light up her face and make it just that bit more unique. "Well if you believe in this big nasty, maybe you'll believe this. But first my name is Isabelle and this is Christopher."  
  
"Believe what?" Dawn asked.  
  
Isabelle smiled, "Chris and myself are angels. Death and birth respectively."  
  
Dawn blinked, and suddenly, the two didn't look very plain at all. She turned to Christopher. He looked like a surfer. "_You're _the Angel of Death?" she asked.  
  
He nodded, his blonde hair falling into his blue eyes, obscuring them slightly. "Yeah, I know, not the usual black an all. Though I can pull it off quite nicely."  
  
Aidan cocked an eyebrow speculatively; "Well that's nice to know. Now what does that have to do with us dying?"  
  
Isabelle sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "Well that's the thing, well, this demon, you can't kill it on this plane."  
  
Dawn raised an eyebrow in question. "So where will we kill it?" she asked. If they couldn't kill it here, wouldn't it be hard to kill it, period?  
  
Christopher laughed, and continued where Isabelle left off. "Well that's why you have to die, you see, we have to get you to a different plane, and in order for you to get there, well you have to die. Because inter-plane travel takes its toll on a human's body."  
  
"But what about Eve, you only said Dawn and I had to die. Now why can't we have the same fate she does?" Aidan demanded.  
  
"Because you know that soul energy thing I was telling you about? Well with that, I'm not totally human, giving me the power to cross planes. Still hurts like a bitch though," Eve sighed after saying this and sat down.  
  
Dawn looked at the other girl and then at the two angels. "We might as well get this over with. I've always wanted to know how being dead was like."  
  
Aidan gave her a surprised look, "You scare me some times, you know that?"   
  
She shrugged him off and looked at the angels. "Well let's get to it!" she told them.  
  
Isabelle nodded and went to the corner, pulling a bag that was hidden from sight by a chair. "Lay down, both of you." The two teens nodded and laid down on the floor, side by side. Both Isabelle and Christopher started chanting, and Dawn felt tired, but she struggled to stay awake, to stay alert. "Let my voice guide you, you will be safe," Isabelle said softly, almost a whisper. Dawn nodded and took her last breath, falling into the deep sleep.  
  
When her eye fluttered open, she found Aidan standing on one side of her and Eve on the other. Grey mist surrounded the three of them. She shivered slightly; the mist seemed to go everywhere, but no where at all.  
  
"Where are we?" Aidan asked, not liking that he didn't know. If someone told him a week or two ago that he would be doing this, he would have told them they were insane and stalked off.  
  
But never the less, here he was, with his best friend and creepy girl with him. And he didn't like it.  
  
"The spirit realm. I've been here before, but I have a feeling I won't be going back to our plane any time soon. And don't look at me, I don't know what to do," she added the last part hurriedly.  
  
"Well now we sit here and wait, like sitting geese. Whose up for a game?" Dawn said, sitting down.  
  
Aidan looked at her, "And what game shall we play? It's too small a group for duck, duck goose. We can't play hide and go seek, and we can't play I spy. And no, I'm not playing truth or dare."  
  
Dawn pouted for a minute, before sighing. "Okay, so what do we do?" she finally asked.  
  
"Come with us," a voice said. The three turned around and saw Isabelle and Christopher standing there. Christopher was dressed in a dark shirt and pants, and Isabelle in a white slip dress. In a blink of an eye, Dawn's clothes were changed into a similar dress, a green color. Eve's changed to a red dress, and Aidan's to a blue getup much like Christopher's.  
  
"Oh look, we all match!" Eve said, rolling her eyes. Both angels pretended to ignore her and proceeded to lead them into the mist.  
  
As the group walked, the mist seemed to separate and close behind them, leaving them in a long hallway. Aidan, Eve, and Dawn looked about curiously, but Isabelle and Christopher paid no mind to it. They finally stopped in front of a painted wooden door, the green paint was chipping, but the doorknob was slightly dusty, as if nobody had even bothered to open the door in a long while.  
  
"Here you are!" Isabelle, slightly too cheerful. "Why don't you pop in and walk around for a bit, get acclimated to the place. We'll be back in a few hours. We have to get the big nasty."  
  
The three looked at her, and Christopher sighed, "You try running around the city trying to catch that thing, and then find you guys. Getting you to this place took at least a couple hours."  
  
They turned to leave, but a shout from Dawn stopped them. "Wait! What if we have to be there for a couple days or something? What do we eat?"  
  
Isabelle laughed, "The river water's clean, and the tree fruit by the river is okay. You'll be fine on that."  
  
The three nodded at that and the angels turned, leaving them alone, in front of the door.   
  
"So what should we do?" Aidan asked as the two disappeared into the mist. The two girls looked at him.  
  
"I'm thinking the door. If we're supposed to defeat this monster thing, shouldn't we know something about the land?" Eve said sensibly.  
  
The other two shrugged, and Eve grasped the knob and twisted. One by one they walked into the room, not sure what was a head, Eve was the last through and as soon as she passed, the door closed behind her, leaving no indication that there was a doorway at all.  
  
"Well, there's the river," Dawn pointed and they started to walk silently. One really not sure what to say to the other two.  
  
After reaching the shade of the trees that sat down for a few moments. Aidan looked at Dawn for a moment, and then blinked, was he seeing a glow around her, or was he just going crazy? He liked the latter better. At least then he knew he was something, instead he was in a place that he had never heard of before, and didn't really know if it was real or not.  
  
"Dawn, do you_ normally_ glow green?" Eve asked.   
  
Aidan sighed in relief; at least he wasn't the only one who saw it. So maybe he wasn't going crazy after all.  
  
"Huh? What?" Dawn asked as she looked at herself. She was glowing a vibrant green. "Cool! I'm glowing!" she grinned happily as Eve and Aidan watched.  
  
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Dawn, you scare me," Aidan declared.  
  
The only answer he got was Dawn sticking her tongue out. They soon burst into giggles that left Eve slightly more than confused. Dawn got up; slightly winded from the giggle fest she had with her best friend, and walked over to the river.  
  
Looking down into the water she sighed, then something caught her eye. The person that stared back at her wasn't her. She reached out to touch it, to see if it was real, and something grabbed at her hand. Dawn, surprised, pulled back, drawing whatever was holding on to her, come out as well.  
  
It was a pale arm, delicate, but it held a hint of power. Dawn kept pulling and soon a young woman emerged in a purple dress, much like Dawn's own green one. And even though she just emerged from the river, she was dry.  
  
"Who are you?" Dawn asked the older woman.  
  
She smiled, showing of a set of white teeth. "I'm you…sorta."  
  
Dawn blinked, "What?"  
  
"My name's Dawn, just like you. But I'm Dawn Summers. The slayer's sister, also the Key, also you. When I died 12 years ago, my energy was put into your body, therefore making the body have two souls. Since you went and killed your body, both souls were released, you just had to release me," the older Dawn said. "But to make things easier, just call me Summer."  
  
Dawn smiled, "Okay, Summer. But what do you mean, _key_?"  
  
Summer sighed. "Basically, we're are a ball of green energy, in the shape of a human. We have the power to open and close dimensions, which's how your tears summoned that big nasty. I was a part of you until you found yourself here, where we finally were able to split apart."  
  
Dawn blinked, "Does this mean I have a split personality?"  
  
Summer shook her head, "No, this means that we actually have a fighting chance."  
  
Dawn pouted, "Like we didn't before?"  
  
Summer looked, "Don't give me that look. I _invented _that look. And no, you didn't have a chance because you don't know the wonderful parts being a Key gives you, I do."  
  
By that time they had walked over to the shade of the three and the other two looked at Summer. She looked a lot like Dawn, but her hair was a shade lighter and longer, a wave that glistened in the sunlight. Her eyes were blue instead of brown, but their eye shape was the same, as was their nose and mouth, although Summer's lips were pinker and her skin paler than Dawn's. Aidan thought she was pretty, but no match for Dawn.  
  
Night settled over the area like a blanket over a tired child. Dawn and Aidan sat together, Dawn's head on his shoulder, Aidan's head leaning on hers. Soon they fell into a blissful sleep, unaware that Summer and Eve were watching them.  
  
"She loves him you know," Summer whispered.  
  
Eve looked at her, "They do make a cute couple, but you don't know that for sure."  
  
Summer laughed, "I spent eleven years in her body, I spent time in her mind. That girl loves that boy."  
  
Eve nodded, hopefully they would get out of this, alive, and hopefully, the two of them would actually let them have a somewhat normal life after this. Hopefully.  
  
************  
When you're weary, feeling small  
When tears are in your eyes,  
I will dry them all  
I'm on your side  
"Bridge Over Troubled Waters", Simon and Garfunkle   
************  
  
Much thank-you's:  
  
Tigerlily*  
Buffy-Spike-Mad*  
Ivorycat*  
Cassie-bear01*  
Lorelai Anastasia*  
Gidgetgirl** (two because she's greedy!)  
  
No new faces, which saddens me, but I get people though! So it makes me happy! I'm sorry to say the fic will be wrapping up soon, so I would love to see an extra push towards a total of fifty reviews. If you do, I'll put up a little sequel. Which I'll probably put up anyway, I just like reviews.  
  
Shameless Self Promotion:  
  
Hehe, I got Saving the Series: the Torch Bearer out with 3 other people, so I look forward for you people to read/review that. I'll make fans outta you! And I also got another fic, which is just named "Tallulah" for now, I will possibly change it, considering my original plot is light years away from what I have now. *Grin* But both fics will be fun, don't worry!  
  



	9. Influence

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
I can't feel  
The way I did before  
Don't turn your back on me  
I won't be ignored  
~ "Faint", Linkin Park  
************  
  
Dawn woke up to a something warm, and it was nice, snuggling closer to the source of warmth, she sighed contentedly. She then realized with a start, she was cuddling closer to Aidan! Sitting up she looked in horror as her mind processed what she had just done.  
  
She had just cuddled up to her best friend…and she had liked it! Sighing she sat back against the tree. She couldn't even begin to understand the feelings that were whirling around in her mind. Did she like him? Yes, but in what way?   
  
"Damn, shit, and bother," Dawn muttered to herself as she closed her eyes in frustration. Maybe it was where they were. Death did funny things to ones person.  
  
"You love him," a voice jolted Dawn out of her revere.  
  
"Huh what?" Dawn said as sat up, only to face Summer.  
  
"You love him. Aidan. And don't deny it. I was in your head for a mighty long time, I know these things," Summer said as she sat down next to Dawn.  
  
Dawn gave her a look that clearly told her that she was crazy. And she promptly said so. "You're crazy, and even if I liked Aidan, which I don't, he wouldn't like me."  
  
Summer rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Open your eyes girl, of course he likes you. Any fool can see it."  
  
"Well I guess I'm just a fool then!" Dawn snapped as she stood up and walked away from Summer, careful not to disturb the sleeping Aidan.  
  
"But I wanna ride the pony," Aidan mumbled in his sleep as he rolled over.  
  
"I'm sure you do," Summer said as she stood and walked in the opposite direction of Dawn, she needed time to think.  
  
  
Connor looked out upon the sea of faces that made up the sophomore class, and duly noted that neither Aidan nor Dawn were there. This only served to make him worried, when the hotel had found out that Dawn was gone, probably leaving sometime during the night, it was assumed that she had gone over to Aidan's.  
  
But neither were here, so were they could they be? That's when he noticed that Eve was not there as well. Silently he cursed. Didn't he warn Dawn about that Eve girl? That she was a bad influence?  
  
  
Eve woke up to sunshine and warmth, something that she wasn't used to, to say the least. And there was no Michael, which was odd, since she had felt the presence since she was born. It was unnerving.  
  
"Awake I see," Summer jartled Eve out of her sleepiness.  
  
"Hmm, yeah," Eve told her, stretching like a cat.  
  
"Well it's someone to talk to at least. Aidan over there keeps prattling on about the ponies," Summer jerked a thumb over towards the sleeping male.  
  
"Ponies?" Eve asked in amusement, somehow she never thought that the raven-haired boy would have some kind of affinity for the four-legged creatures.  
  
Summer nodded, "He want to ride them, strictly G of course."  
  
"Of course," Eve echoed, still mulling on the fact that there was no Michael around to bother her. Suddenly she felt something, was it loneliness? Did she miss the bothersome ghost?  
  
"Coffee!" Aidan wailed as he sat up, his hair sticking up in all directions.  
  
Eve and Summer shared a look, "At least it isn't ponies," Summer offered.  
  
Eve shrugged, "There may be hope for him yet."  
  
  
Dawn stared at the water's edge, watching as it rushed past, never changing, but still never the same. Strangely, it mirrored her relationship with Aidan. Now only if she could figure out how she and Aidan should be, or what exactly what was going on. "Fuck you," she whispered to herself, hitting the water, disrupting the calm flow.  
  
Standing as she shook the water droplets of water off her hand, she turned and walked towards Summer and Eve, and a whining Aidan.   
  
"Coffee!" he wailed, looking at Dawn, his eyes cocker spaniel wide.  
  
Dawn smiled at the boy's innocent look, "Only problem, we're lacking in a Starbucks here."  
  
He pouted, "There should be!" he demanded.  
  
The four of them sat around, talking uneasily, as none of them knew of what was to come. Dawn shot Aidan looks when she he was looking, blushing ever so often. Aidan did the same. These actions did not escape the careful watching of both Eve and Summer, and they shared their own looks. They'd get the two of them together soon or later. And if they never left, well they'd be spending the rest of eternity together.  
  
"I'm bored," Dawn said finally, breaking the silence. As she said this, she tucked a piece of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear as she yawned; the sun's warm glow was making her tired.  
  
"You're itching for a fight?" Isabelle said suddenly, coming up from behind the group.  
  
"What?" Dawn said, looking behind her, finding the angels. "Must you do that? I've had enough people sneaking up on me to last a lifetime."  
  
"Or two," Summer added in helpfully. She had, had enough people sneaking up on her to last a couple of lifetimes.   
  
"We'll try to stop. But we've got a problem; someone's noticed your disappearances. Big brother's always watching," Chris tapped his temple symbolically.  
  
"Damn him, damn him to hell for 120 years," Dawn cursed Connor and his innate ability to find her when she didn't want to be found. It had led to quite a few rows between him.  
  
"And I'm sure Lucifer would love Angel's own little broody spawn," Chris said, thinking about all the bitching the Angel of Hell had done when the ensouled vampire had graced his territory for an extending visit.  
  
"And Gabriel would love it. That man, no matter what anybody says, is truly a sadistic bastard. He loved every moment of Lucifer's torture, so did a lot of other people, but that's beside the point," Isabelle smirked, thinking about the blonde angel that was the Angel of Heaven.  
  
"Ah yes, sibling rivalry at it's best. Good thing neither of them have hand in where souls go," Chris sighed.  
  
The one mortal, the one ghost-seer, and the two keys looked at the two angels in disbelief. The angels shrugged, and then changed the subject.  
  
  
Connor stood in the central office, looking at the sophomore files. That god it wasn't out of the ordinary, no him looking through student files wasn't out of the ordinary, no, what was out of the ordinary was that one of the three absent students of his had disappeared during the night.  
  
Finding the file he was looking for, he drew it out of the cabinet and walked back to his room. Connor was going to spend the rest of his free period reading up on this Eve Carson, and why she wanted to get to know, and corrupt Dawn.  
  
What he found surprised Connor, Eve Carson lived along, and her parents had been dead for the last year. Since she was such a gifted artist, especially in drawing, she had been given a scholarship. She skipped often, and that was apparent, many complaints could attest to that. But Eve handed her homework in, and always showed up for pre-scheduled tests and quizzes, and did surprisingly well. That enough was to keep many teachers happy. But none of this new information on the background of Eve Carson swayed Connor's dislike for this girl. Eve was a bad influence, and she already had Dawn and possibly Aidan in her net.  
  
The bell rang, signaling the end of his free. That was his last one of the day as well. He'd have to wait until the end of the school day to investigate. God, he was turning into his father. Briefly he wondered if he should Faith to a degree, but quickly shook his head, ridding himself of the idea. Of course he should. Connor didn't want an enraged slayer on his hands. No, if he found out that Eve had done anything to the girl he thought of as a sister, there'd be enough hell to pay. After he was done, maybe he'd let Faith get involved, maybe.  
  
  
"So we're gonna fight this how?" Dawn asked.  
  
"I'm thinking much with the maiming and hurting, although Britney Spears is always a favorite weapon of mine, as long as we don't get arrested for war crimes," Summer shrugged, offering her own two sense, no matter how zany and out of whack her ideas were.  
  
"I don't think the United Nations has jurisdiction here, so I think you're scot-free," Aidan added helpfully.  
  
Eve raised an eyebrow; "You carry Britney Spears around with you?" was the question that she raised.  
  
Summer shook her head, "Well, no. I just thought you know, it would be a good idea and all that jazz," she confessed.  
  
"Oh good, you scared me there for a moment. I don't know anybody who carries around Britney Spears, and I don't think I want to," Eve said before nodding and looking at the angels, who looked like they wanted to say something, and say something rather important.  
  
Both Isabelle and Chris got this glowing look around the two of them. Then together they started telling everyone how to kill the beast that was going to attack him. "You shall maim this beast with these," she brought out four silver axes, each inlaid with different gem and precious metal. "And thou shalt hit three times, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt hit, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not hit, neither hit thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, the beast will be dead."  
  
Dawn blinked at the announcement, "And after the spanking, the oral sex!" she said. When everyone gave her strange looks, she blushed faintly. "I'm guessing that wasn't from Monty Python and the Holy Grail…"  
  
"No, no it wasn't," Isabelle said.  
  
Dawn's blush deepened, "Oh."  
  
************  
I don't want to be the one  
The battles always choose  
'Cause inside I realize  
I'm the one confused  
~ "Breaking the Habit", Linkin Park  
************  
  
Reviewers:  
  
Ferretgirl (I like your name! Personally I'm known as the Bouncing Ferret Goddess)  
julz* (hehe, that's all I'm going to say…hehe.)  
Danica*  
Lorelai Anastasia*  
Buffy-Spike-Mad*  
Ivorycat*  
gidgetgirl*  
  
Author's Note: Wow, much sorryness for the lack of updating. Hehe, I was a lazy, lazy person. Well it was mostly writer's block, but I got over that (hint, look at my fics Pulvis et Ubrarum and Comedy of Errors to see how I spent my time off). This fic only has like a chapter left, but it will be fun and games, and questions such as "Will Aidan and Dawn finally kiss?" and "What will happen to Summer?" will be answered next chapter. And next chapter will be fun, promise you that! Oh, and the little speech at the end by Isabelle and Chris is owned by the writers of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I just borrowed and tweaked it. Oh! Review…please?  
  



	10. There and Back Again

Disclaimer: Joss owns all, for now. He's a rat bastard who got me hooked on show tunes, especially his. *glares* For now, he owns all characters, and some dialog that takes place in the beginning. But I will prevail. Just watch….  
  
************  
I'm gonna watch you shine  
Gonna watch you grow  
Gonna paint a sign  
So you'll always know  
As long as one and one is two   
There could never be a father who loved  
His daughter more than I love you  
~ "Father and Daughter", Paul Simon  
************  
  
Wesley sat in Eve's apartment, looking at his little girl. Her lips were painted a frosty blue, like she had smeared too much lip-gloss over them. But he knew better, if he could feel, and if he touched her skin, she'd be cold.  
  
"My little girl," he breathed out, an unnecessary action, but breathing was a hard habit to break.  
  
Dawn looked at peace, like an angel. He wished that she could always looked like that. His little girl had grown up too fast.  
  
"It's weird, isn't it?" Michael's voice broke Wesley's own.  
  
The English ghost turned to the other, "What do you mean by that?" he asked.  
  
"Seeing like that. I've known been there every step of the way. From her first loose tooth, first crush, everything. I've been her constant companion, and I felt alive, through her. And now, nothing." Michael looked at Wesley, "I feel nothing."  
  
Wesley blinked, not really knowing how to respond to such an omission. Wesley looked at Michael, "Do you love her?" he asked.  
  
Michael nodded, as he looked down towards his transparent shoes. "Yes, it may seem wrong, since I've been there all along, but she's grown to be my princess charming. He person I compare everyone to. It hurts."  
  
Nodding, Wesley placed an understanding hand on the other man's shoulder. "I fell in love with a woman who was entrusted to me. Granted it took a long tome for it to evolve, and that was after she slowly tortured me. But we fell into a mutual love. A non-erotic love."  
  
"Like winter Tuesday night clothes?" Michael suggested. Wesley gave him a half smile, and nodded.  
  
  
Connor watched as the minutes ticked by. He had snapped at his students for the past two periods, only one more to go. He almost sighed in relief as he handed out the test for that period. Even if it did create even more paperwork for him later on, it spared him the loss of his temper. Oh it was a catch-22.  
  
Drumming his fingers against the cool metal of his desk, he looked over the sea of heads, bent over the desks in concentration, writing furiously. There on the side, next to the row of windows, one seat back was empty. It was Aidan's desk. The class, even if they were taking a test, and he was the only one of the 18 that was absent, the class seemed strangely subdued and empty.  
  
The scratching of pens, the rustle of papers that was the symphony that Connor was privy to, yet he didn't want to be a part of it. He just wanted out. He almost felt he was one of his students, waiting for the bell to ring and the day to ring.  
  
He closed his eyes, and sighed. "End, end" he chanted silently, hoping someone was listening.  
  
When the final bell rang, he idly remembered what he and his friend Rich had done their final day of high school Pushing the memories away, Connor stood and told his students to pass in the test. Ad soon as the last paper was handed in, Connor raced out of the room, to the office, and out of the school. He was ready to find Dawn.  
  
  
All of them sat in a circle, under the tree. The wind blew unseen. The air was thing with tension. Nobody knew what was supposed to come, Save probably for Isabelle and Chris, and they weren't talking.  
  
"Hey, what will happen if we kill it?" Dawn asked, finally facing the fact that she may never see her friends or family again. And she had never said goodbye.  
  
"_When_ we kill it," Aidan told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.  
  
"Well, you'll go back to your bodies," Chris said simply.  
  
They were silent, milling over this fact. "Wait, what about Summer?" Eve asked, wanting to know about what would happen to her newfound friend. Nobody wanted to face the fact that they could very well lose the woman.  
  
Isabelle and Chris shared a small smile with each other. "Although you cannot die in this plane, as you are already dead, you can get hurt. But if you all survive, we're going to give Summer her body back. A bit aged maybe, but still in good working order.  
  
Summer smiled, she'd get to live again. Noting could beat that, even surviving in Dawn's body. Don't get her wrong, she loved Dawn like a sister, but they were different people. Hopefully they'd stay friends. Dawn's family had become her own.  
  
  
Wesley and Michael sat in the living room, talking about their lived and their unlives. Michael had been an idiot savant in music, later he dropped out of high school, but was motivated enough to get his GED, and later was accepted into Berkley under their music program. He had died while driving a motorcycle; a drunk driver had hit him.  
  
Wesley told him about his own family, the people in England, and the people in Sunnydale. He had told of his life in Los Angeles and of the mismatched family that was his.  
  
"Hey, what's that?" Michael asked, interrupting Wesley's story.  
  
Light motes floated in the air, settling on the empty couch. They swirled and collected, forming a body. After a few moments, a fully formed corporeal form lay there, and it was cold. The two ghosts looked at each other.  
  
"It looks like they have help," Michael smiled.  
  
Wesley returned the favor, although it has a sad quality to it. The body looked familiar, like Dawn, Dawn Summers, only older. She was beautiful when she was alive, and it was such a tragedy when the girl died. He remembered the funeral well. The blonde slayer had been heartbroken; after all she had lost her mother only a few months before. Sighing unneeded, he looked at Michael. He could only guess at what was going on, "I guess so," he finally said.  
  
  
Connor looked up at the building; it was in a mid-class neighborhood, nice, but not pricey. Walking in, he kept his head down, not wanting to be noticed by other. Going over to the elevators, he pressed the button for the sixth floor. Finding the apartment, he knocked, and there was no answer.  
  
  
There was a flash of light in the sun filled plane. The emotions of surprise, intrigue, suspicion, and excitement passed throughout the group.  
  
"It's time," Chris said as he and Isabelle stood and looked at the four.   
  
"Good luck," Isabelle said and they disappeared.  
  
Dawn looked at her companions, "Here goes nothing," she said, as she stood up, the silver axe glinted in the sunlight as she held it with ease. One by one everyone got up, Aidan first, then Eve, and finally Summer.  
  
They ran to the place where they saw the flash of light. The place was burnt, and a large chunk of earth had been incinerated, leaving a crater. Again, the four shared a look before Summer smirked and let out a war cry and charged down. The others followed suit, ready for anything that got in their way.  
  
  
Isabelle and Chris appeared in the apartment, just to hear the beginning of the banging. Giving a curt nod to Wesley and Michael, Isabelle waved a hand and the bodies were hidden. Chris went to answer the door.  
  
"Yes?" Chris asked, he was faced with a rather irate Connor, who was glowering in Chris's general direction.  
  
"Is Eve Carson here?" Connor ground out. He had been banging on the door for the last five minutes, and just no someone had felt in necessary to open up. He had already been yelled at by one of the neighbors.  
  
"She's unavailable at this moment, I'll be sure to tell her you called," Chris told him, before trying to close the door.  
  
Connor stopped it with forcefulness that surprised the angel. "No, I don't think you understand. Eve didn't show up for school today, so I just wanted to make sure everything is alright."  
  
Chris gave him a tight smile, "I'll be sure to tell her when she wakes up, now please leave."  
  
Connor's eyes clouded, "Whatever kind of magic you're trying to pull over me is not working, I can sense it. Now let me in and see Eve, she knows where my little sister is. If I find out that your keeping me from finding my little sister…" Connor let his threat hand in the air.  
  
Chris suddenly got a glint in his eye, "Very well then," he told the young man, stepping back, allowing him to enter.  
  
When Connor spotted Dawn, sitting in a chair, her head against Aidan's shoulder, her lips blue, he whirled around, "What have you don't to her?" he shouted. But he was talking to thin air.  
  
  
As they ran into the crater, they found it harder and harder to see, as if there was a clouded glass circling them. Soon everyone lost sight of one another; they could hear each other though. Suddenly there was a shout, and it sounded like the sole male in the group, Aidan.  
  
"Aidan?" Dawn called out, fearing for her friend.  
  
"I'm okay!" Aidan called out.  
  
Dawn snorted, she knew better than that. "Yeah right," she called, "I'm coming to help you!" she called.  
  
"Don't you dare! Go fight that thing, be the champion I know you can be!" Aidan called out.  
  
That made Dawn stop. What was she supposed to do, fight the big and nasty, or help her friend. Debating for a few minutes she sighed. What would Aidan do if it were she? That made her take off in the direction of her friend's voice.  
  
"Aidan!" she called out, once she though she had caught sight of his dark hair.  
  
"What?" he yelled.  
  
Rushing over to the sound of his voice, Dawn was relieved to see that Aidan wasn't hurt, badly. "Are you okay?" she asked, dropping down into a crouching position.  
  
"Yup," he said. "And I though I told you to go fight the big bad thing," he pouted slightly.  
  
Dawn grinned at her friend's childish antics. It made the mood lighter. "Friend's don't leave friend's behind. The least I could do is die along with you."  
  
Somewhere far off they could hear Eve snort. "Will you two just kiss already? I wanna get out of here!"  
  
The two friends snickered at the harassed note in their dark friend's voice. "When in Rome," Aidan started off, his eyes twinkling in mischief.  
  
"Do as the Romans do," Dawn finished before leaning over.   
  
And they kissed. After breaking apart, they both had goofy grins on their face. "I think I like Rome," Dawn whispered. Aidan only nodded in agreement.  
  
"Will you two stop making up or whatever you're doing and help us now?" Eve called.  
  
Snickering, Dawn stood and held out a hand to Aidan. "Think you can walk?" she asked.  
  
He nodded, "It was only a scratch. But I liked the kiss that made it all better."  
  
Another loud squawk from Eve brought them to their senses. Standing, she helped her friend up and they rushed back into battle. Together they dug deeper and deeper into the center of the crater. They could hear Summer as well as Eve doing the same.  
  
"Foolish mortals, how dare you oppose me!" a large voice boomed over the crater and the smog began to dissipate.  
  
"And who said we were mortals, or foolish? Besides, we aren't afraid," Eve yelled, showing bravado that none of them had.  
  
  
Connor looked at Dawn, but then he spotted another girl lying on the couch. She was beautiful. Her skin was pale as ivory, only her cheeks had a bit of color in the, a faith rose, as if was painted with a shade of pink called antique rose. Her hair, which pooled around her head, was a deep brown, almost a chocolate color. Her body reminded him of a ballerina's. She was beautiful, and for a moment, he forgot where he was, and why he was there. He could only focus on the beauty that lay before him. As he reached out to brush a lock of errant hair, his fingers touched her skin. It was stone cold.  
  
"What the hell?" he muttered to himself, thoroughly confused.  
  
He turned and looked at Dawn, then Aidan, and then finally Eve. Touching their skin softly, he noted that they were all cold as ice. He then noticed that there was no sound whatsoever. It was eerie.   
  
  
When Eve finished yelling at the voice, Dawn glared at her. "Hello, think much?" she snapped. "Big scary voice equal's even bigger and scarier monster. I'm plenty afraid."  
  
"Foolish mortals," the voice began, "if you put down your weapons, it will grant you a quick and easy death." The fog continued to evaporate, making it easier and easier to see the area around them. Everyone soon caught sight of each other.   
  
"I thought we couldn't die?" Aidan squeaked once they all stood together.  
  
"Maybe they were wrong," Summer suggested.  
  
"You're doubting the Angels of Life and Death?" Dawn deadpanned.   
  
"Well, supreme beings have been known to be wrong…" Summer started.  
  
"Well they aren't going to be wrong this time," Dawn stated, holding her axe high. "Here goes nothing," she whispered and started running into what was left of the fog.  
  
"Dawn!" Aidan called, afraid for his best friend. He ran after her.  
  
Eve swore and looked at Summer, "We'd better go after them. Who knows what the love birds may do," she smirked while she said that before she too bolted. Summer only followed.  
  
When she got to the middle, she stopped short, "What the hell?" she muttered. There was no monster. "What's with the no big ugly thing?" she asked, confused.  
  
"There," Dawn pointed downwards to the ground.  
  
"Well, it certainly is ugly, I don't know about big though," Aidan remarked.  
  
The demon began to speak, "I am the dark lord of nightmares! The bringer of terror! Tremble before me. Fear me!"  
  
Eve smirked, "He – he's so cute!" she squealed.  
  
"Tremble!" the demon commanded.  
  
Aidan smirked as well, "Who's a little demon? Come on! Who's a little demon!"  
  
Summer rolled her eyes, "Don't taunt the demon."  
  
Aidan looked up, worry in his eyes "Why, can he hurt me?" he asked.  
  
Summer shook her head, "No, it's just – tacky," she told him.  
  
"Grab him!" Eve yelled at that moment, the thing made a rather undignified squeak and started running.  
  
The chased after them, often missing by only an inch or so. "Damn, this is harder that trying to slaughter a pig to provide blood for a seal of hell," Summer muttered to herself. When everyone looked at her with his or her eyebrows raised, she blushed, "Never mind," she muttered and shook her head.  
  
"Got it!" Eve yelled holding the small creature at arm's length; "Good to know that chasing cat's off furniture is good for something." The other nodded in agreement, as they walked closer to Eve.  
  
"Ugh does it have to smell so bad?" Dawn complained as she got within a foot of the pair.  
  
"Speak for yourself, you're not the one holding it," Eve reported hotly, trying to breath through her mouth, and not her nose, trying to avoid smelling the awful stench.  
  
Dawn walked over and aimed her axe, bringing it down swiftly, three times in total.   
  
Aidan looked at headless demon corpse, "Big overture. Little show," he remarked.  
  
Everyone nodded, wondering what was to come next.  
  
"Excellent!" Isabelle said coming up from behind the group of four.  
  
"Stop doing that," Dawn said dropping her axe to the ground.  
  
Isabelle ignored her, "Are you ready to go back?" she asked. They all shared a look and nodded, they were ready to go home.  
  
  
Connor sat in Eve's living room, mulling over the fact that there were bodies, cold bodies, in the room, when his concentration was broken by a loud gasp of air.  
  
"Oh my god!" Dawn breathed out. She took a couple of experimental breaths before turning to Aidan, who was sitting next to her.  
  
"Aidan?" she asked, oblivious to Connor who was sitting there in the room.  
  
"Huh, what?" Aidan's voice was slurred as if his tongue was unwilling to move,  
  
"You okay?" she asked, leaning down, so their noses were almost touching.  
  
"Yeah," he told her, sounding very tired.  
  
"Good," she smiled and kissed his nose. Straitening, she stood and walked over to Eve, she shook the girl awake, when she came to, she went over to Summer.  
  
"Morning Sunshine!" Dawn smiled when a bleary eyed Summer opened her eyes.  
  
"Go 'way," Summer told her, rolling over.   
  
Dawn smirked, "We're back," she told the older woman, shaking her.   
  
"We are?" Summer asked, sitting up. "Hey whose the cute glaring at you?" she asked.  
  
That's when Dawn finally noticed Connor finally. "Connor!"  
  
He gave her a cool look, "What just happened?" he asked.  
  
Dawn grinned at him, "Nothing, well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."  
  
Connor was unfazed, "Try me," he challenged.  
  
Dawn stood and walked towards him, and patted his head like he was a puppy dog. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. So lets just leave it at that, okay?"  
  
************  
I've heard there was a secret chord  
That David played, and it pleased the Lord  
But you don't really care for music, do you?  
It goes like this  
The fourth, the fifth  
The minor fall, the major lift  
The baffled king composing Hallelujah  
~ "Hallelujah", Rufus Wainwright  
************  
  
It's done! Lookie, I finished a ficcy! Took me awhile, but I did it. *sigh* I almost don't want it to end, but it did. I hope you enjoyed it, cause I know I did, and thanks to all my reviewers.  
  
Serena  
Gigetgirl**  
Ivorycat**  
Lorelai Anastasia**  
Ferretgirl**  
  
There may or may not be a squeal or a prequal, it mostly depends on the mood I'm in or if I feel like it. And right now, I'm going to list all of the music lyrics I used to prove my "point" of the chapter. And I only own the CD's that the songs are on; I don't own any of the rights.  
  
Let Me Fall, Josh Groban  
Home To Stay, Josh Groban  
Where You Are, Josh Groban  
Save the World, Bon Jovi  
Friday Nite, Slick Shoes  
Show Me Love, t.A.T.u  
How Soon Is Now?, t.A.T.u  
Daddy's Little Defect, Sugarcult  
Typical, The Moffatts  
Crazy, The Moffatts  
I'm Just a Kid, Simple Plan  
Nothing On My Back, Sum 41  
I Stand For You Nick Carter  
Wanted Dead or Alive, Bon Jovi  
Naked, Avril Lavinge  
Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Simon and Garfunkle  
Faint, Linkin Park  
Breaking the Habit, Linkin Park  
Father and Daughter, Paul Simon  
Hallelujah, Rufus Wainwright  
  
Thank you for read, and can you all please review. I was going to post this as two chapters, but decided to give this all to you, so be nice, and review.  
  
And if you liked this piece of work, Aidan, Dawn and Summer will be gracing FF.net's pages later on, when gidgetgirl and I join forces to write Camp Tess (working title). All your favorite OC's are going! And if you have one, don't be afraid to send it to me! Especially if you have a male character, we're looking for people of either sex between the ages of 4-21. Thanks.  
  



End file.
